Protein carotine : enriched flaky snack food (Rugag)‎

Abstract EN

Attempts were made to fortify a Sudanese traditional cereal-based snack food “Rugag”.

Addition of 27 % chickpea or pigeon pea increased the protein contents of the snack significant (p≤0.

5) from 10.1mto 18.3 and 15.

3 %, respectively.

Incorporation of a dry organ sweet potato at 10 % level gave a vitamin A content of 540 RE/100g snack material almost three folds increase over the conventional market product (190 RE/100g).

Rugag material containing chickpea recorded highest reference (p≤0.

05 %) from those containing pigeon pea or conventional market ones.

The protein quality of snack was assessed by both in vitro and in vivo means.

Snack containing chickpea were found to be more susceptible to proteases.

The protein efficiency ratio and the net protein ratio of snack containing chickpea were (2.

33-2.

46 ; 3.

8-3.

96, respectively), and they were significantly (p < 0.

05) higher than respective values obtained from market Rugag (1.

41, 2.

68 respectively).

The relative net protein ratio of one fortified snack food was closed to that of casein (81.

3 % of casien).

The newly developed high protein/carotein rich Rugag flakes can successfully replace poor quality street food unhygienically sold to school boys ; yet fortified flakes can be used as emergency foods.